Perforating machine



Aug. 26, 1952 Q R. T. FIRMINGER 2,508,282

7 v PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Attorney;

Aug. 26 1952 R. T. FIRMINGER 2,608,282

- PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Inventor L; [Buzz A ltorney:

By I

Attorneys 4 Sheets-$heet 3 Inventor r I F, I

2 b a L; 3 mm m E R N E m G C m M 3 u m M G 00000 R m m wmmmm F n F x r T IJ.) l I F R m .5 n vvV/v I m I R Aug. 26, 1952 Filed Sept. 22, 1950 i atented Aug. 26, 1 952 s PATENT orrlcs 211';

V V PERFORATING MACHINE Reginald Theodore Firminger, London, England Application September 22, 1950, Serial No. 186,256

In Great Britain February 10, 1948 V Claims. (01. 197-6) i' This invention relates to machines for perforating ribbon or like flat material with figures,

letters or signs, and has for its object to provide a vmachine for such purpose operable by keys similar to a typewriter, whereby any number or arrangements of figures, letters, or signs can be perforated. 7 According to this invention, the machine comprises a set of keys and key actuated levers similar to, a typewriter with one key and key actuated lever for each symbol to be perforated, and each lever carries at itsend a perforated plate for action in conjunction with aperforating devicein which the material to be perforated is located, incorporating a number of pins or punches arrangedto cover the whole area of the largest symbol, each plate being perforated sothat in operation the unwanted pins can pass through the perforations and the wanted'pins are engaged by the solid part of the plate to punch the perforations required, power means for driving the machine, and means whereby on striking a key its plate is moved into position in the perforating device and held'therein, the key action also starting power drive to perform the perforation and after perforation to release the perforated plate so that it and its key can returnto normal position and release the power drive so that all parts return to normal.

Escapement meansare provided for movement of the carriage.

-The invention will be clearly understood from the following description aided by the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of sumcient of a machine to show one example of carrying the in-' vention into effect, Figure 2 is a section on the line 11-41 of Figure 1, Figures 3, 4 and 5 are views on the line III-I1I of Figure 2, Figure 6 is a side section of part of the perforating mech-. anism, and Figure 7 a section on the line VIIVII' of Figure 2.

The invention can 7 various ways as to detailed construction.

In the example shown in the accompanying drawings, the machine comprises a frame I having an inner movable frame 2 carrying a number of keys 3 and key actuated levers 4 similar to a typewriter, the movable frame 2 being slidable to reciprocate up and down under action of.

be carried into effect in perforated plate 9 having on each side a notched recess 9a so that the end or nose of the plate 9 is somewhat of T shape. i

On the movable frame 2 and at a position usually occupied by the operative part of the ribbon on a typewriter are positioned two .pivoted levers H3, ll, having noses lea, Ila, which project towards each "other, with recessed por tions lllb, lib behind the noses lea, lla,.,said levers lo, 1 I being spring controlled by springs I2 so that the noses ma, Ha normally closeto wards each other. Between the pivoted levers Ill, ll is a lever l3 hingedly connected to a fiked block "or member of the frame I, said lever-l3 being connected by a link it. to. a trip lever l5 pivotally mounted intermediate of its length, t he lever 13 being spring controlled by. a spring 16. A plate, ll, having an opening shaped as a guideis positioned in front of the levers l0, H. A I

On the movable frame 2 and in front of the two pivoted levers I0, l l but at a lower plane is positioned a block or member 18 havinga humber of holes arranged close together and inlines, such holes covering an areaas large as the largest letter, figure or sign to be perforated, and above said block I8 is another block l9 having a similar number of holes, the blockl9 forming part'of the frame I, and in each hole is a pin or punch 20, and above the punch block l9 and at a little dis tance away is another block or anvil 21 also s'e cured to the frame I and having holes corre-. sponding to those in. the block. [9. The -material: 24 to be perforated passesbetween the top blocks 19, 2|, the plates 9 on the key actuated levers 4 being adapted to, enter between the lower block. [8 and the punch block is.

The drive shaft 6 carries aloose pulley wheel 22 which is driven from any suitable prime mover.) a roller. or other clutch 23 being provided. for

locking the pulley 22to the shaft .6. x U V The clutch23 is actuated by mechanism of any: suitable kind on striking a key actuated lever 4 as willbe hereinafter, described. V l

' The carriagetfor supporting the material 24; comprises a frame which is provided with grooved wheels 25 riding on cross rails ,26' and is spring urged in one direction. The carriage 8 has depending arms 21 carrying a toothed rack 21a which co-operates with a; pinion 28 mounted on a shaft 29 rotatably mounted in 'bearingsin the main frame I. The shaft 28 also carries a suitable toothed esc'apement wheel 30. 1

On the main frame I is rockably mounted an escapement pawl3l, oneiend of which coacts'j with the escapement wheel 39 while the other 'end is acted upon by an arm 32 carried by the forations being so arranged that only the necessary pins 20 for the letter or figure are engaged by the solid part of the plate 9.

When the shaft 6 has completed half a revolution the movable frame 2 will be at its highest point, and th nose 4la of the cam plate 4! acts on the arm 45 of the lever 43 to depress the arm 43 to allow the lever l5 to return to normal position. The hinged lever 13 will also return to its normal position under and lear of the hinged levers 19, H, and the material 24 will have been perforated.

The material 24, such as a coil of lead strip, is f supported on a bracket 36 on the main frame l and is passed over a roller 31 and under a roller 3112 on one end of the carriage 8 and through clamping devices 38, 39, one at each end of the.

carriage 8. The material 24 on the carriage "8 passes through :between the top blocks r9, 2!.

A cutting off device 49 is provided at the end 9f the rr e One member of the roller clutch 23 is provided with a cam plate 4| and the other member with a can nose Me. On the main frame 5 is pivotally mounted at 42 a clutch lever 43 located across the top of the cam plate 4!, the lever 43 carrying a stop 44 and a downwardly projecting arm 45 having its end curved so as to :be under the cam plate 4!. The lever 43 with the arm .45 is normally urged upwards by a spring 46. The lower end of the trip lever I5 is adapted to engage with the end of the lever 43, as will be seen in full lines in Figure '7.

In normal condi ion, the inner movable frame 2 is in its lower position, with the hinged levers Ill, ll held open by the hinged lever l 3 engaging in the recesses lllb, Hb in the levers 10, I I (Fig-- ure 3) and with the pulley 22 being constantly rotated by the prime mover. The material 24 is in position for perforating, and when a key 3,-say for the letter A, is depressed as in typing, the perforated plate 9 on the end of its lever is swung up and passes through the shaped guide ll and strikes against the hinged lever l3 pivoting it on its hinge for its full movement so that it is free of the hinged levers l9, II which then partially close lOgether under action of the spring l2 so that the noses Illa, Ila engage with the sides of the perforated plate ,9. On remov lng the finger from the key 3 the perforated plate 9 will retractuntil the noses Illa, Ha engage in the recesses in the sides of the plate 9 and gripand hold the plate 9 in position between the lower block I8 and the block I9, as in Figure 5.

The pressing back of the hinged lever l3 actuates the trip lever IE to allow the clutch lever 43 to rise so that its stop 44 is free of the nose 4l'a, to allow the clutch 23 to come into action to engage the pulley wheel 22 with the shaft 6 so that the shaft 6 commences to revolve, the hinged lever l3 being held back by the clutch lever 43 engaging the trip lever l5. The shaft 6 through the eccentric '5 raises the movable frame 2 and with it the preforated plate 9, pins 20, and pivoted levers l0, H, the hinged lever l3 not moving.

During this upward movement, the solid part of the perforated plate 9 will engage with the lower ends of the pins necessary to form the letter A, such pins 29 being pushed upwards through the material 24 and anvil 2i, and the holes in the perforated plate 9 will pass over the other pins 20 not required for the letter A, so that these pins 20 are not operated. The other perforated plates 9 operate similarly, the per- Duringthe second half revolution of the shaft 6, the movable frame 2 will descend and the top end of the hinged lever I3 will engage between the inner faces of the levers I0, II, and as the movable frame 2 reaches its lowest position, the hinged lever 13 will open the levers l0, ll so as to free the perforated plate 9 and allow the plate 9 and key actuated lever 4 to return to normal position under action of a spring (not shown). h ins 2. wh ch a s ida d in the bl k l9 will be returned to normal position clear of; the perforated plate 9. Theihinged lever 13 has a wedge action in opening the levers ll), ll. s the shaft 6 co pletes its re l tion, th can; nose 4la engages the stop 44 and allows the clutch 23 to return to normal under action of a sprin ot shown) e th t the pulley. whee 2 is again ee o the aft .6 and the sha t 6. is stopped until another key is depressed to start a new cycle of operations.

As seen as e pins here. left the. material 24 being perforated the tooth wheelsfl and escapement mechanism is operated by the arm. .32

to allow the carriage 8 to move forward one step under its spring ready for the next perfg a ation.

Preferably means are provided for locking the keys except the key which has been opera. ated. A convenient means comprises locating an inverted channel shaped member under a slidable link (not shown) connecting eachkey to its key actuated lever. On each] link is a depending nose-shaped plate. The channel shaped member is pivotally mounted at'itsends near the rear flange sothat it normally tends to rock downwards at the forward edge clear of; the nose-shaped plates. Ihe parts are so are range tha n s ik n a k y, he nk: of th key moves backwards and its nose shapedmMe en a es the re r an e o he channel ha member n rocks a e beekwe e so tha the front flan e moves up to the, re r er the s aped plates of ll t other l n s and pre en the other keys being depressed. On return 9f the actuated. key. th v channel shap d member returns to normal position.

The invention is suitablefor perforating any ribbon or like flat material which can be per rated, andis especiallyuseful for perfora ing. lead and other strip or ribbon, in which case the-s rip or ribbon may, as already described, bewrapped on re ls h ld by bracket 3.6 provided the outer frame 1.

Various modifications; and deta l a terations may be made.

What I claimas my inventionis:

l. A machine for perforating. ribbon-and like.- fiat material with figures, letters or signs, come;

prising a perforating device in which. themes,

terial to be perforated is positioned, saidperfo rating device including a set of pins arranged to cover the whole area of the largest sign, a set of keys and key actuated levers, one key andcne key actuatedlever being provided for each sign to be perforated, a perforated plate carried by each key actuated lever and movable thereby into operative position in the perforating device for cooperation jwith said pins, means for holding each perforate'dplate in such operative position during a perforating operation, each of said plates having perforations therein arranged for passage therethrough of the unwanted pins and for engagement by the solid part of the plate with the wanted pins to punch the required perforations, a movable frame operative to advance a perforated plate into cooperation with the pins of the perforating device for performance of a perforating operation, power means for advancing and retracting the movable frame, controlling means for starting and stopping the power means, and means operative upon said controlling means in response to actuation of each key to start the power means'a'nd thereby advance the movable frame to move the respective perforated plate into cooperation with the pins of the perforating device to perform a perforating operation, said controlling means being operative upon completion of the "perforating operation to stop the power means after retraction of the movable frame and-to actuate the holding means to release the perforated plate and permit return of said plate and its key to normal condition.

2. A machine for perforating figures, letters or signs in ribbon or like flat material comprising a main frame, a vertically movable frame in said main frame carrying keys and key actuated levers similar to a typewriter, a main shaft carrying an eccentric adapted to raise and lower the movable frame, a carriage for the flat material movable across the main frame, spring means urging the "carriage in one direction, escapement means controlled by the movable frame to allow .the carriage to move step by step under the action of, said spring means, a block having a number of holes on the movable frame, another block also having a number of coinciding holes secured to the main frame above the movable block, a pin in each of the coinciding holes in the fixed block, an anvil mounted on the main frame at a little distance above the fixed block and having holes coinciding with the holes in the fixed block and so positioned that the flat material carried by the carriage can pass through between the fixed block and the anvil, a perforated plate on each key actuated lever adapted to be located on striking a key, between the movable block and the fixed block, means for holding the perforated plate in position during the perforating operation, a power drive connected through a clutch with the main shaft, means operated on striking a key to engage the clutch and drive the main shaft, and means for disengaging the clutch on completion of the perforation, the pins in the fixed block being arranged to cover the whole area of the largest symbol, and each plate being perforated so that in operation the unwanted pins can pass through the perforations in the plate and the Wanted pins can be engaged by the solid part of the plate to punch the perforations required.

35A machine for perforating ribbon or like flat material as claimed in claim 2, wherein the perforated plates on the key actuated levers are formed on each side with a notched recess so that the end of each plate is of T shape, and wherein the holding means for the perforated plate is located between the movable block and the fixed block and comprises two pivoted. levers having noses which project towards each other with recessed portions behind the noses, spring means to normally close the nose ends of the levers towards each other, a lever hingedly connected to the frame of the machine, the upper end of which is adapted to engage between the two pivoted levers, and a trip lever connected to the lower end of the hinged lever and adapted to actuate the clutch.

4-. A machine for perforating ribbon or like flat material as claimed in claim 3, wherein the frame of the machine is provided with a bracket adapted to support a coil of flat strip material and the carriage is provided at each end with a clamp adapted to clamp a length of material from the coil on the carriage.

5. A machine for perforating ribbon or like flat material as claimed in claim 4, wherein the carriage is provided at the outward end with a cutting device for severing a length of perforated material after drawing through the carriage.

REGINALD THEODORE FIRMINGER.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Italy of 1936 Number 

